Stylised image of Andrew performing the first living donor related paediatric renal transplant in Myanmar.
“Vascular surgery is a subspecialty with three branches of practice—arterial (not including the heart or within the skull), venous, and lymphatic surgery.”
What is Vascular and Endovascular Surgery?
Background
Vascular and endovascular surgery is a relatively young surgical subspecialty that deals with ALL the blood vessels outside of the head and the heart. The blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart are the arteries whereas the ones that carry blood back to the heart are the veins.
Arteries: These blood vessels can block and cause problems with flow further downstream. They can enlargen abnormally and burst. These blood vessels can also tear their inside lining, again causing problems with flow downstream or with the branches coming off the main blood vessel. The arterial supply of the body is synonymous with a tree with its main trunk and multiple branches.
Veins: These blood vessels are different to arteries in structure and function. They are thinner-walled, have valves and are under lower pressure. They can also enlargen abnormally or block up with clots although these blockages generally cause a different spectrum to that of problems with arteries.
Lymphatics: These channels make up a third system by which the body transports fluid from one part to another. Disorders with this system tend to cause swelling in and around the affected areas.
Vascular and Endovascular Surgery
21st century vascular and endovascular surgery involves traditional open surgical techniques, modern endovascular ('keyhole' or minimally invasive) techniques and a combination (hybrid) of the two. Your vascular and endovascular surgeon must be competent in all techniques to be able to offer the best intervention for your condition. Andrew has trained in some of the best vascular centres in the world and is well versed in all vascular and endovascular surgical techniques, both traditional, modern and combinations thereof. Click here to find out more about Andrew's background.
Read more
Click here to read a British Medical Journal Careers article entitled "Out on a limb? The truth about a career in vascular surgery". Andrew wrote this back in 2006 when still a research fellow. Written as a professional careers advice guide for aspiring vascular and endovascular surgeons, it remains relevant as an accurate description of what vascular surgery is and what vascular surgeons do. Andrew also correctly predicted that vascular and endovascular surgery would eventually become its own surgical subspecialty in the UK, separate to general surgery, with surgeons being dual-trained in both open and endovascular techniques.